Allegations Shedding New Light on Republican Party in the Bronx

Among the players in an alleged scheme to sell a spot on this year's New York City mayoral ballot is one of the rarest of figures in local politics: a Republican from the Bronx.

With the arrest Tuesday of Joseph "Jay" Savino, the chairman of the GOP in the Bronx, federal investigators brought new attention to an organization that operates on the margins of city politics. Mr. Savino, who is accused of accepting a bribe, and his attorney didn't return calls for comment Wednesday. The lawyer has said his client denies wrongdoing.

The Bronx is one of the most Democratic-leaning counties in the U.S.: There are 46,298 registered Republicans to 559,085 Democrats. Last fall, the Bronx was second only to a reservation in South Dakota in turning out the largest percentage of the vote for President Barack Obama.

Amid a lopsided electorate, the county GOP organization has had little success in electing candidates and hasn't often mounted an aggressive effort, according to people close to New York Republican politics and campaign spending records. There is no Republican elected official in the Bronx, where Mr. Savino has led the county organization since 2005.

Between mid-2011 and the end of 2012, the Bronx party spent more than $100,000 from its two accounts, according to campaign-finance records. The vast majority of that money went to meals, rent and travel. During that period it made one political contribution, for $320, records show.

Dorothy Delayo, listed on the party's website as its treasurer, didn't respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Four other officials listed on the website either didn't return calls for comment or declined to comment.

Campaign-finance records show much of the organization's income since 2006—$150,000—came from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican county organizations. He needed their support in order to get a waiver to run on the party's ballot line in 2009, when he was unaffiliated with any party.

Along with appointments to the city's Board of Elections, such waivers are one of the few levers of power controlled by county chairs by dint of their position. But both are important: Board of Elections members help decide who gets hired by the organization. And waivers to run on a party's ballot line are critical to candidates who want the support of a party in which they don't hold membership. Candidates on the Republican line have won the last five mayoral races.

Those waivers were at the center of a probe that led to the arrests Tuesday of Mr. Savino and five others, including state Sen. Malcolm Smith, a Queens Democrat. Mr. Smith is accused of orchestrating a bribery scheme to win the support of the Bronx and Queens Republican organizations in hopes of getting the same waiver. A lawyer for Mr. Smith has denied the charges, saying the federal government "cherry-picked" secretly recorded conversations to cast his client in a bad light.

The party also raised substantial sums recently from billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, a Republican running for mayor this year. Mr. Savino ultimately endorsed former Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Joe Lhota, a former aide to Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mr. Lhota said Wednesday that Mr. Savino's alleged actions are "despicable" and that he wouldn't be involved in his campaign.

The last Republican elected from the Bronx, former state Sen. Guy Velella, resigned in 2004 when he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes. He spent 182 days in jail. The next year, Mr. Savino—a former aide to Mr. Velella—took over the party.

"Maybe this scandal can do something to finally clean it up," said William O'Reilly, a Republican consultant.

Now, though, the GOP in the borough is moribund, the people close to New York Republican politics said. Federal agents arrested Mr. Savino in a lakefront home 30 miles north of the city, according to prosecutors. When Mr. Savino called an attorney, it was Kevin Faga, his partner in a White Plains law firm.

At a Bronx property that city records show is owned by Mr. Savino, a neighbor said Wednesday he hadn't seen him in years. The doors of the party's headquarters, in the borough's Pelham section, were locked. Dusty signs touting Mitt Romney for President lay strewed around.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.